by Joan Flora, in honor of Pattie Sloan’s retirement According to a recent survey in USA Today, 27% high school students report “extreme stress” during the school year, as opposed to 13% in the summer. 34% predict their stress levels will rise with … Continue reading →

by Joan Flora and Pattie Sloan: two teachers challenging the status quo Brace yourselves for CNN’s report by Kathleen Porter-Magee; this is going to hurt: Affluent youngsters, especially if they were also white, were much likelier to get rigorous curricula, advanced courses, … Continue reading →

It’s hard to miss motivation and creativity when it blooms in front of us. Yesterday, Joan’s eighth-grade son returned home from his Model UN experience saying, “In 362 days, I get to go back as a delegate of one of … Continue reading →

Pattie Sloan and Joan Flora: two teachers challenging classroom status quo. In our past posts we have examined creating a link from novels in the core English classes to current global issues, but in this post we want to examine using … Continue reading →

By Joan Flora and Pattie Sloan: two teachers challenging classroom status quo As Valentine’s Day approaches, school clubs and teams will raise funds for school programs through candy grams, commonly with Hershey’s Kisses or some other chocolate attached. GreatSchools writes, … Continue reading →

by Pattie Sloan and Joan Flora: two teachers challenging classroom status quo It is just a little after the New Year, the time for resolutions, and by the time this is posted and read by you, I am fairly confident … Continue reading →

By Pattie Sloan and Joan Flora Connecting The Other Side of the Sky and I Am Malala Classroom purists are shaking their heads as we shift from the “core literature” and the pursuit of the “elusive metaphor” to non-fiction and … Continue reading →

By Pattie Sloan and Joan Flora In continuing our work with The Other Side of the Sky by Farah Ahmedi and Tamim Ansary from last week’s post, What is The Best Response to Injustice?, we offer a parallel lesson and … Continue reading →

By Joan Flora and Pattie Sloan Sometimes poverty is a concrete noun that we can study and dissect as we attempt to break its power in the lives of our students. If you’ve been following this blog, you already know … Continue reading →